Colleges: UT explains decision to hire former Baylor football staffer

January 17, 2017

AUSTIN - For almost a week, Texas officials stayed silent as outsiders questioned why the Longhorns had hired a former Baylor football staffer who had publicly defended disgraced coach Art Briles after a sexual assault scandal.

Tuesday, UT athletic director Mike Perrin issued a statement saying he approved the hiring of Casey Horny only after the new quality control assistant assured him he "is in total alignment with our culture of integrity at the University of Texas."

In the statement, Perrin said UT "does not tolerate sexual assault and is firmly committed to preventing it on our campus." He said he "spoke with length" to Horny before he was hired and reviewed his background at Baylor and other universities.

Horny began his career at UT in 2000, serving as a graduate assistant alongside Tom Herman, now the Longhorns' head coach. After stops at Sam Houston State and Texas State, he served nine years as an assistant director of football operations at Baylor.

Last spring, Baylor fired Briles after an investigation by Pepper Hamilton showed concerns about the "tone and culture" of the football program in light of multiple reports of sexual assault. After Briles' firing, Horny and other staffers posted several Twitter messages in support of the ousted coach, using the #TruthDontLie hashtag.

Horny's name was not mentioned in any report about the scandal, but Perrin acknowledged Tuesday that his public campaigning for Briles was a mistake.

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"Like others, I question Coach Horny supporting some commentary on social media," Perrin said. "After further discussion with Coach Horny, he understands such actions will not be tolerated at Texas."

Odds and ends

University of Houston deputy athletic director Jeramiah Dickey plans to step down in mid-February to become the associate vice president for athletic operations at Baylor. The move will reunite Dickey with former UH athletic director Mack Rhoades. The two also previously worked together at UTEP and Akron. Dickey joined the UH staff in 2010 as associate athletic director for development and was promoted to senior associate athletic director for external relations in 2014. He was named deputy AD in 2015. …

Texas A&M defensive backs coach Terry Joseph is leaving for a similar position at North Carolina.